The present invention relates to a locking mechanism, and more particularly to a locking mechanism for an object hung on a wall to prevent theft of the object.
Public places such as parks, airports, hotels are frequently decorated with paintings, pictures, sculptures, and other objects. For example, in hotel rooms, the walls of the room may be decorated with a painting, or a mirror may be hung on one of the walls. In this regard, hanging systems have been invented which addresses the method by which these decorative objects may be hung on the wall. One such apparatus is further described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,802 (“'802 patent”) which is expressly incorporated herein by reference and further discussed in the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION section of this application. In the '802 patent, a frame is hung on a wall via a wall track attached to the wall and a frame track attached to the frame. The wall track and frame tracks interlock with each other to hang the frame on the wall. Moreover, the wall track may be an elongate member which engages the frame track along their respective lengths. As such, the frame is always aligned with the wall track and always level with the ground. This hanging system may be employed at hotels to hang pictures and paintings on walls of the hotel rooms as well as to hang mirrors in public restrooms. However, this hanging system does not have a theft deterrent device which prevents guests and visitors from removing the painting or picture hung on the wall and stealing the same.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to provide a mechanism to prevent removal of objects (e.g., pictures and paintings) hung on walls.